USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Commemorative biographical record of New Haven county, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, V. I, Pt 1 > Part 90
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The subject of this sketch had very little op- portunity to attend school, but has broadened his mind and developed his character by private re- search and discriminating observation. He was ear- ly introduced to wearisome toil, and after working in his father's saw mill until he was sixteen years of age, had qualified to contract for the construction of a house. This early evidence of ambition, en- ergy and ability is still standing, a monument of which he is justly proud. For some time he was employed in the operation of woodworking machin- ery at Worcester, Mass., being first in the service of Howe & Chase, and later with the Bradley Car Company.
Before attaining his majority, Mr. Parker re- sponded to the call of his country for volunteers to preserve its integrity, enlisting Aug. 15, 1864, in Co. F, First Battery of Mass. Heavy Artillery, and served until his discharge at Fort Warren, in 1865, at the close of the struggle. In 1865 he returned to Worcester and worked as a carpenter for a short time, subsequently spending four years in the shops
of Taylor & Farley, organ manufacturers, and eight years with the Loren & Blake Organ Company, of Worcester, being superintendent of its plant dur- ing the last three years: His mind was not idle during this time, but was ever studying the mechan- ism of musical instruments, with a view to design- ing improvements. Many ideas now in universal use are due to his constant study. After leaving Loren & Blake Organ Company Mr. Parker became a stockholder and director of the Tabor Organ Company, of Worcester, and was superintendent of its factory for five years. Believing in the possi- bilities of the West, he was induced to sell his stock and invest in the Kansas Organ Company, of Leav- enworth, Kas., in which city he resided one year. Not satisfied with his western environment, he sold out his interests there and returned to Worcester, where he was engaged as inventor and perfector by the Monroe Organ Reed Company, manufacturers of automatic instruments.
Mr. Parker became a resident of Meriden in 1888, and has since continuously served the interests of the Wilcox & White Company, makers of the celebrated "Angelus"-an automatic organ-player, and other automatic instruments. His skill and faithfulness are well-known, and he fills a re- sponsible and lucrative position in the musical world of Meriden-no circumscribed circle among the in- dustries of the "Silver City." Though he does not enjoy all the emoluments arising from their manu- facture, the ideas involved in the valuable products of this factory are largely due to the genius and indefatigable effort of Mr. Parker.
On Christmas day, 1866, William D. Parker mar- ried in Worcester, Mass .. Miss Margaret Colwell Smith, who was born in Newport, R. I., a daughter of Morton Smith, of that city. Only one of the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Parker is living, namely: Herbert. Two daughters died in child- hood. Mr. Parker is a member of Atherton Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Worcester, is a Republican in political principle, and is independent in religious thought. Though he does not affiliate with any established Church organization, he is respected as an honest man and good citizen. The Golden Rule supplies his moral code, and in the game of life he endeavors to "play fair."
WILLIAM A. CLARK was born in Seymour, Dec. 25, 1810, and died Jan. 15, 1879. He was en- dowed with inventive genius of a high order, and his justly celebrated expansive bit, which he invented and manufactured is one of the most valuable inven- tions in the tool line that has ever been perfected in this country. His large factory in Westville, which was built in 1870, was a model of its kind. He conducted this establishment until his death, turning out small hardware, bits. hollow augers, etc. It is also claimed that Mr. Clark invented friction match- es, previous to 1835, and before his location in West- ville he manufactured them in Woodbridge, finally turning that business over to his son, Frank E. He
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employed about fifteen hands in the factory, and seventy-five hands in making the boxes, mostly women and children in their own homes, and turned out twenty thousand gross per year, using sixty thousand feet of lumber. The work was done mostly by hand. However, Mr. Clark's skill was not confined wholly to invention and manufacturing. Ile was an up-to-date farmer, his skill in husbandry being unsurpassed in his locality.
On June 10, 1841, Mr. Clark married Emily Dibble, a native of Woodbridge, and daughter of John Dibble, who was born in Woodbridge, where he followed farming all his life. He married Bet- sey Hine, who was born in Woodbridge, a daughter of Moses Hine and granddaughter of Stephen Hine. Philo F. Dibble, the father of John Dibble, was born in Woodbridge, and his father, John Dibble, who graduated from Yale, came from Danbury, Conn. After their marriage William A. and Emily ( Dib- ble) Clark settled in the town of Woodbridge,
they were the parents of four children : Will- iam Eugene, Theodore Dibble, Frank Emerson and Jessie A. (Mrs. Newton). William Eugene died when he was twenty-six years old; Theodore Dibble died at the age of thirty-one years; Frank E. lives in California. Mrs. Clark, the mother, is still living. Jonathan Clark, the father of William A., was a farmer in Woodbridge. He married Amelia Osborn, and had two sons, Elizur and Will- iam A. George Clark, the father of Jonathan. was the fifth in descent from George Clark, the settler, who located in Milford in 1639.
JAMES DWIGHT DANA, Scientific Explorer, Mineralogist, Geologist, Zoologist, Professor in Yale University. We quote freely from the open- ing chapter of the life of James Dwight Dana, by President D. C. Gilman :
in him the spirit of research. The duties of an in- structor, never burdensome, kept him in touch with youth. During the latter half of his life he suffered from continuous ill health, but by calmness of mind and economy of energy, by extraordinary concentra- tion while he was at work, and by habits of complete repose at stated intervals, he accomplished far more than ordinary men who have no sense of mental weariness and no bodily ailment. With self-imposed restrictions, supported by the cheerfulness and se- renity of his wife and children, he continued to work until the very last hours of his life, which extended two years beyond four-score. Death came to him with a gentle summons after he had been crowned with abundant honors, and after his contribution to science had given him the foremost rank among his scientific countrymen and an honorable place among illustrious naturalists of the nineteenth century.
"Mr. Dana's life, in the main, is one of tranquility. Its chief interest consists in the unfolding of a mind of rare abilities, and in the progress of his scientific work. Yet during his long career there were inci- dents of more or less exciting nature, such as the perils of the sea, including shipwreck ; the observa- tion of life among cannibals: the ascent of lofty mountains : the pleasures of discovery in unknown regions; the interchange of ideas with the leaders of contemporary thought; the controversies of sci- ence and religion, and the earnest discussions inci- dent to the advancement of knowledge. The re- organization of a university, the building up of a school of science, the establishment of a museum of natural history, the conduct of the American Journal of Science, the maintenance of correspond- ence with investigators from Berzelius to Darwin. and the inspiration of successive generations of young students are among the services of his life. Five great works, several smaller volumes, and numerous minor publications are enduring illustra- tions of his ability.
"The life of Prof. James Dwight Dana is the life of a distinguished naturalist, successively an ex- plorer, an investigator, a writer, an editor and a teacher. His versatility is as noteworthy as his "Problems of world-wide interest engaged His attention. Opportunities such as will never come again were opened to him in the exploration of the Pacific ocean. Moreover, he lived in a period when scientific inquiry was more varied, comprehensive and exact than it ever was before in the progress of mankind; when new fields invited students ; when new instruments of research were at his com- mand; and large cutlays for the advancement of science were made by institutions and governments. The great principle of evolution was announced and developed during this period, and Dana's cor- respondence on this and kindred subjects, with Darwin, Gray, Agassiz and Guyot, and his success- ive papers, bearing more or less on this subject. are of significance in the history of the acceptance of that doctrine. longevity. Gifted with uncommon powers cf ob- servation, memory, comparison and reasoning, he devoted them to the science of mineralogy, geology and zoology. He had the advantage of a favorable environment in his youth-at home, at school and at college. Rare opportunities were subsequently en- joyed for seeing the most interesting parts of the globe-a visit to the Mediterranean sea ; a voyage around the world, with prolonged stay among the South Sea Islands ; a summer in Switzerland; and a journey, later in life, across the American conti- nent, and beyond it to the Hawaiian islands. Long periods of quiet study and reflection intervened. Close relations with the most distinguished investi- gators in this country and abroad (principally by. correspondence), and the prompt reception of their latest publications and their communications to the "James Dwight Dana was born Feb. 12. 1813, in Utica, Oneida Co., N. Y., the eldest of ten children journal of which he was an editor, gave him early information of the progress of science and quickened of James and Harriet (Dwight) Dana, who were
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married in 1812, she a daughter of Seth Dwight, of Williamsburg, Mass. Mr. Dana's forefathers had lived in Massachusetts for several generations. He removed to Utica soon after his marriage, and died there in August, 1860.
"The parents of James Dwight Dana were alike characterized by thrift, integrity and good sense. Both of them were of strong religious convictions, based upon the modern Calvinistic doctrines of the Congregational Church, to which they belonged. Everything in his home life at Utica was wholesome and invigorating."
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Prof. Dana attended the Utica high school after his fourteenth year, from which school he went to Yale College, in 1830, attracted, as he afterward said, by the reputation of Prof. Benjamin Silliman, who was then at the height of his reputation as a teacher, lecturer and editor, and under whose guid- ance many of the leaders in American science re- ceived their erliest training. He began his new life at the beginning of the Sophomore year, and graduated, B. A., in 1833. In his Senior year he offered himself for the position of teacher of the midshipnien in the United States Navy. This ap- pointment he received, and in this capacity he visited the ports of France, Italy, Greece and Turkey while on the "Delaware" and the "United States." From 1836 to 1838 he was assistant in chemistry to Prof. Silliman. In December, 1836, he was appointed mineralogist and geologist of the United States exploring expedition then about to be sent out by the United States government to the Southern and Pacific oceans under the command of Capt. Charles Wilkes. The expedition sailed in August, 1838. Mr. Dana was on the "Peacock" until it was wrecked on a sand-bar at the mouth of the Columbia river. July 18, 1841. With this ex- pedition he was absent from the United States three years, returning in the summer of 1842, making his residence at Washington from 1842 to 1844. Relations were quickly established with the fore- most naturalists in America and Europe. For more than a decade his absorbing duties consisted in the preparation of three voluminous reports entrusted to him. Besides mineralogy and geology, he had under his supervision the zoological department, in- cluding the crustacea and corals. Mr. Dana had been first appointed in the field of geology, and his observations and deductions are given in a large quarto valume of 756 pages, with a folio atlas of 21 plates (1849). Later, however, in part because of the return of one of his colleagues to the United States, he assumed charge of the crustacea and zcophytes. These combined departments gave full scope to his zeal and industry. The result of his work in this departments of zoology include a Re- port on Zoophytes, a quarto volume of 741 pages, with a folio atlas of 61 plates ( 1846) ; and a Report on Crustacea, in two quarto volumes, aggregating 1620 pages ( 1853), accompanied by a folio atlas of ninety plates (1854). A large part of the drawing of the plates in both books was made by the ex-
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plorer's own hand. These were published by the government in Washington, and only a hundred copies of each were issued.
In 1850 he was appointed Silliman professor of Natural History and Geology in Yale College, and entered into the administration of the chair in 1856. The subsequent delivery of the lectures on natural history by others led to a change in the title of the professorship. in 1864, to that of Geology and Min- cralogy. During the earlier years of his professor- ship the measures were adopted which transformed the rudimentary Scientific School of Yale College into that great institution which bears the name of its chief benefactor, and is widely known as the Sheffield Scientific School. In the plans for its ex- pansion Dana took an active and influential part. He inquired into the work of kindred institutions in Europe, as they were described to him by those who had lately returned from studies abroad, and he advocated the adoption of some of their methods. He urged the securing of an endowment, and he pointed out the uses that could be made of funds which should be supplementary and auxiliary to those already held by Yale College. The cabinet of minerals belonging to Yale received a great deal of attention and care. Professor Dana undertook its arrangement and the preparation of labels, conform- ing closely to his own manual of Mineralogy, and he encouraged the students and public to visit freely the collections. He was one of the original board of trustees, and the construction of the building, as regards internal arrangements, was largely deter- mined by plans made by him.
Like Silliman, Dana was soon invited to deliver public lectures in different cities, usually under the auspices of Young Men's Institutes. The only ex- tended tour that he consented to make was made in the winter of 1857, when he visited, in rapid succes- sion, Utica, Fort Plains, Canajoharie, Buffalo, Cleve- land, Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburg. From the enthusiastic report of his lecture upon "Corals" in Utica, his native place, it is obvious that he held the audience in delighted attention. "No scientific lectur- er ever spoke more directly than he to the popular appreciation and instruction. To lively and pic- turesque language he added an earnest, distinct and pleasant delivery." Not far from thirty years had passed since the Utica schoolboy was collecting rocks and minerals, and now he came "home" with wide experience, high station and national renown, to address his townsmen on the most fascinating branches of geological investigation.
For fifty years Mr. Dana was associate editor of the American Journal of Science and Arts, now the oldest scientific paper in the United States. The duties connected with this journal received a large portion of his time, for that period, a service entitled to ample recognition. This journal was founded by the elder Benjamin Silliman in 1818, and conducted chiefly by him alone until 1838, when his son, Ben- jamin Silliman, Jr., late professor of chemistry in the college, was associated with him, and with the
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beginning of the second series Mr .. Dana, soon to be made Professor of Geology and Mineralogy, be- came also one of the editors-in-chief. These two gentlemen then carried on the work together, the senior editor having retired, but later most of the editorial labor devolved upon Prof. Dana, and this remained true until the later years of his life. Then these duties were assumed by his son, Edward S. Dana, whose name appears among its editors-in- chief in 1875.
Dana's Manual of Geology first appeared in 1862, and the subsequent editions came in 1874, 1880 and i 1895. This work, as his son has said, is not simply a compilation of facts, but a development of the ! whole subject with a breadth, philosophy and orig- inality of treatment that have seldom been attempt- ed. Among his works in book form are "System of Mineralogy" (New Haven, 1837; 5th edition, re- vised, New York, 1868) ; "Manual of Mineralogy" ( New Haven, 1848; 4th edition, revised in New York, 1881) ; "Coral Reefs and Islands" ( New York, 1853) ; "Manual of Geology" ( Philadelphia, 1863; 3d edition, revised in New York, 1880) ; "Text Book of Geology" ( 1864; 4th edition, revised, 1883) ; "Coral and Coral Islands" (New York, 1853) ; "The Geological Story Briefly Told" ( 1875; revised, 1895).
Professor Dana was a member of scientific socie- ties in the United States and abroad, including the Royal Society of London, the Institute of France, the Royal Academy of the Lincei of Rome, the Royal Academies of Berlin, Vienna and St. Peters- burg, and one of the original members of the Acad- emy of Science in the United States. For a time he attended the meetings of the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science, and the Na- tional Academy of Sciences, of both of which he was chosen president. But he had no liking for such assemblies, and as years went on he excused himself more and more frequently from engage- ments which took him away from home at periods fixed for the convenience of others. Throughout his later life academic honors had been abundant. Amherst College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, in 1853, before he en- tered upon the professorship of Yale. He was ad- mitted to the like distinction at Harvard, in 1886, and at Edinburgh in 1889; from Munich, in 1872. he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Phil- : osophy. On several occasions he was the recipient of distinctions still more personal. The Copley medal was awarded him by the Council of the Royal So- ciety of London. Five years before. in 1872. the Wollastan medal of the Royal Geological Society of London had been awarded to him for his con- tributions to mineralogy and geology. The Royal Society of New South Wales awarded him the Clark Memorial medal, in 1882.
Professor Dana's religious life "was simple and devout, full of good will to all men, absolutely free from dogmatism and obtrusiveness. Even among
his most intimate friends he rarely referred to his inmost convictions and hopes." Just before the ex- pedition sailed he became a member of the First Church of Christ in New Haven, and in later life he was a communicant in the college church and was constant in his attendance upon divine worship. In national politics he was deeply interested in all the controversies that preceded the Civil war. He was strongly devoted to the cause of the Union, but never participated in public meetings.
Some months after Mr. Dana's return from the Pacific, he announced his engagement to Miss Hen- rietta Silliman, daughter of his former teacher, Benjamin Silliman, and sister of his future colleague, Benjamin Silliman, Jr. The marriage took place in New Haven, June 5. 1844, and after that New Haven was his permanent abode. The happiness of the home was greatly increased by the children that from time to time came into it. These were six in all, of whom four survive, two-a son and a daugh- ter-died of diphtheria in early childhood. in Au- gust, 1861. The eldest daughter, Frances, has been since November, 1870, the wife of George D. Coit, of Norwich, Conn. The eldest son, Edward Salis- bury, is well known as his father's associate in the faculty of Yale University, and in the editorship of the Journal of Science. Another son, Arnold Guyot, is connected with the Financial Chronicle, edited by his uncle, William B. Dana, in New York City. The youngest daughter is still her mother's com- panion.
Prof. Dana died at his home on Hillhouse ave- nue, New Haven, April 14, 1895.
JOHN JOEL OSBORN, for many years one of New Haven's leading business men and promi- nent citizens, and several of whose children are now identified with the city's interests, notably John J. and Frederick A. (the latter engaged in the life insurance business), was a representative of one of New Haven's Colonial families-a family whose de- scendants have been closely allied with the growth and progress of the city and vicinity, the name oc- curring in different lines of trade and in the vari- ous professions through a period of 260 years.
Born Dec. 18, 1817. in New Haven, Conn., Mr. Osborn was a son of Joel and Nancy ( Hitchcock ) Osborn, and a grandson of Capt. MIedad and Ra- chael ( Hotchkiss) Osborn. both Captain and Joel Osborn being of New Haven. and were engaged in farming and manufacturing in the line of woolen goods. Capt. MIedad Osborn was a soldier of the Revolution.
It is stated in Atwater's history of New Haven that John Joel Osborn was a descendant in the eighth generation from Thomas Osborn, who set- tled in New Haven in 1638. Savage, in his "Gen- ealogical Dictionary of New England." gives a Thomas Osborn of New Haven, 1639. and as remov- ing to Easthampton, L. I., in 1650. The town of Easthampton was purchased as far eastward as
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Montauk in 1648 by Theophilus Eaton. Governor of the Colony of New Haven, and Edward Hop- kins, Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, for the benefit of the original settlers, and was assigned to them in the spring of 1651. Six of the nine original settlers of the town were from Lynn, Mass., to that point. Thomas Osborn's name is not given as one of the original nine settlers, but it is one on the list of those who followed, and became very early their associates. Hedges, in his Address and History of Easthampton, L. I. (1839), from which the fore- going relative to Easthampton was taken, says that Thomas Osborn died Sept. 12. 1712, aged ninety years, and that the "Osborn family appears to have been eminent for their industry, frugality, morality and piety."
John Joel Osborn early met with a two-fold mis- fortune-the loss of his father and his own health- his father dying when the lad was eight years of age, and for seven years John J. was an invalid confined to the house. After the regaining of his health he attended a well-known school at Wilbra- ham, Mass. He returned from school in 1833, at a period when the city of New Haven seemed to be the center of the carriage manufacturing business of the country. Young Osborn became an appren- tice to the carriage business with Isaac Mix & Sons, then one of the two leading firms in the business in that city, the other being James Brewster. This firm failed during the panic of 1837, and Mr. Osborn found employment in a carriage factory in the town of Milford, Conn., and two years later. in 1839. bought out his employer. In 1840 Mr. Osborn closed up the Milford business, and became asso- ciated in the same kind of business as a partner of the late Henry Hooker, of carriage manufacture note, under the firm name of Hooker & Osborn. These gentlemen in 1841 established a branch house at Richmond, Va., and soon afterward another branch at New Orleans, La. . Mr. Osborn took charge of the house at Richmond and lived in that city from 1841 to 1852, and built up an extensive business. On July 1, 1855, Mr. Osborn purchased Mr. Hooker's interest in the business in Richmond and New Haven, and the following year took in with him as a partner John Adriance, and the two were associated together in carrying on the business until 1879. when Mr. Osborn retired from active business, and thereafter until his death, which oc- curred June 25, 1887, devoted his time to his pri- vate business affairs. His career was one of marked success, he early displayed characteristics which go to make up a successful business life. He was a man of excellent judgment and ability, and his opinions were regarded as of the best-good and safe-and he was not infrequently consulted in re- gard to business matters. He owned considerable property in New Haven. He was a plain, unassum- ing gentleman and greatly attached to his family and home.
On June 27, 1853, Mr. Osborn was married to
Charlotte A. Gilbert, of Seymour, Conn., a daugh- ter of Ezekiel Gilbert. a retired New Haven mer- chant, and a descendant of Judge Matthew Gilbert, an early settler of the Colony of New Haven. Ezekiel Gilbert, father of Mrs. Osborn, was the son of Thomas Gilbert, who was a farmer and shoema- ker in the town of Huntington, Fairfield Co., Conn. He served in the Revolutionary war. Six children were born to John J. and Charlotte A. (Gilbert ) Osborn, namely: Curtis E., who died an infant; Robert G .; John J .; Frederick A .; Virginia; and Selden Yale.
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